Gas boosters are configured to boost a lower pressure gas, such as air or nitrogen, in a supply cylinder to a higher pressure. In many cases, gas boosters may receive the lower pressurized gas from the supply cylinder and upon pressurizing the gas, provide the higher pressurized gas to an accumulator for storage. One application for a gas booster is as a supply source for either a pressure controller or a calibrator. In some cases, pressure controllers and calibrators may be employed in remote locations, thus, requiring the gas booster to be portable. Some applications require the gas booster to be able to pressurize gas to high pressure levels, such as up to 10,000 pounds per square inch (psi). To achieve these pressure levels, the components of the gas booster tend to be excessively heavy or cause the gas booster to produce low volumes of high pressure gas.
Gas boosters can be powered by various means, each having its own limitations with regard to producing high pressure levels at high volumes while maintaining light weight. Pneumatically powered boosters may use gas from the supply cylinder to power the gas booster. This limits the volume of high pressurized gas that can be produced, because some of the supply gas is expended to power the gas booster itself. Hydraulically powered boosters use hydraulic pumps to generate the drive pressure, which are generally excessively heavy, resulting in the booster weighing over 45 pounds. Electrically powered boosters are generally heavy due, in part, to the piston assembly and the size of the electric motor required to actuate the piston assembly. There is, therefore, a need for light-weight, compact gas boosters that are configured to produce high pressures, preferably at high volumes.